The billionaire chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has joined Donald Trump’s China delegation after a reported last-minute invitation, highlighting the US’s AI and tech ambitions.
Huang will join a roster of US bosses including the Tesla chief executive and X owner, Elon Musk, the Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon at Trump’s 36-hour meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
The high-stakes summit is the first overseas trip for Trump since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February. The summit is expected to cover topics including that conflict, tariffs and China’s relationship with Taiwan.
Huang was not on the initial list of business delegates, according to reports. However, the Nvidia boss, whose company’s chips have been driving the AI boom, was reportedly seen boarding Trump’s presidential plane in Alaska, before Trump confirmed his participation in the summit on social media.
Huang has been pushing for greater access to the Chinese market that he has said represents a $50bn (£36.9bn) opportunity.
An Nvidia spokesperson said: “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals.”
Trump wrote that the news outlet CNBC had “incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China. In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One.”
Trump went on to confirm he was also accompanied by bosses including BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg and Citi’s Jane Fraser.
Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social: “I will be asking President Xi, a leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!”
Huang was declared the world’s seventh richest person earlier this week, overtaking the Dell founder, Michael Dell, on the back of Nvidia’s rising share price. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire’s list, Huang’s net worth hit $191.5bn on Monday, thanks to the rising value of his 3% stake in the chipmaker.
His pay package over the 2026 financial year fell by 27% to $36.6m because of a drop in Nvidia’s stock value last year, as investors were spooked by chatter over an AI market bubble.